The status of one who does not bear arms. From the first the Seventh-day Adventist Church has staunchly advocated noncombatancy for its members. In 1863, during the American Civil War, the United States passed a draft law with special provisions for churches that held noncombatant principles. The newly organized General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists filed official statements with state governors and with the federal government listing its noncombatant teachings. The first of these statements, addressed to the governor of Michigan on Aug. 3, 1864, read in part: “We now lay before Your Excellency the sentiments of Seventh-day Adventists, as a body, relative to bearing arms, trusting that you will feel no hesitation in endorsing our claim that, as a people, we come under the intent of the late action of Congress concerning those who are conscientiously opposed to bearing arms, and are entitled to the benefits of said laws.”
The various statements were accepted, and the church was notified that its members were entitled to the noncombatant provisions of the law.
The subject did not come up again until World War I. In the United States a statement confirming the position taken during the Civil War was adopted by the North American Division on Apr. 18, 1917: “We hereby reaffirm the foregoing declaration. We petition that our religious convictions be recognized by those in authority, and that we be required to serve our country only in such capacity as will not violate our conscientious obedience to the law of God as contained in the decalogue, interpreted in the teachings of Christ, and exemplified in His life” ( North American Division Committee Minutes 1:517, Apr. 18, 1917).
Since the church had by that time grown to worldwide proportions, representations were made to various governments by the Seventh-day Adventist organizations within these countries-for example, the following statement was presented to the prime minister of Great Britain and is quoted in part from the minutes of the British Union Conference for Jan. 12, 1916: “As a church we are opposed to war. Our people in the United States, during the Civil War, were recognized as noncombatants, and lately in Australia and South Africa we have been granted exemption from combatant duties and from general work on the Sabbath.”
In Continental Europe, World War I broke with such speed that Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders were unable to gather for counsel, hence no official stand was taken. Later, at a council of the European Division Committee at Gland, Switzerland, Jan. 2, 1923, a statement of noncombatant principles was issued, which read: “ Declaration of Principles . The executive committee of the European Division of the denomination of Seventh-day Adventists, assembled in conference at Gland, Switzerland, having carefully counseled concerning Sabbathkeeping, military service, bearing of arms in time of peace and during periods of war, unanimously declare themselves in harmony with the general teaching of their brethren of that denomination throughout the world, as follows:
“We recognize earthly governments as ordained of God for the purpose of securing to their people the blessings of order, justice, and tranquillity; that in the exercise of their legitimate functions such governments should receive the loyal support of their citizens.
“We assert the justice of rendering tribute, custom, and honor to earthly governments, as enjoined in the New Testament.
“We revere the law of God contained in the decalogue as explained in the teachings of Christ and exemplified in His life. For that reason we observe the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) as sacred time; we refrain from secular labor upon that day, but engage gladly in works of necessity and mercy for the relief of suffering and the uplift of humanity; in peace and in war we decline to participate in acts of violence and bloodshed. We grant to each of our church members absolute liberty to serve his country at all times and in all places, in accord with the dictates of his personal conscientious conviction” ( Review and Herald 101:4, 5, Mar. 6, 1924).
The Seventh-day Adventist principles on noncombatancy have led in the past, in some countries, to a member’s being imprisoned when confronted with an order to bear arms when drafted into military service. However, in most countries today the governments recognize, to some degree at least, the conscientious conviction against the bearing of arms.
Medical Cadet Corps. One factor in the improvement in the position of SDA noncombatants in the armed forces, apart from the recent rather general attitude that the individual should be granted the privilege of having conscientious convictions and living in accordance with them, was the practical work done by the SDA leadership in preparing their young men for the draft through the Medical Cadet Corps. In the 1930s in the United States, there was a realization that military medical service could give draftees an opportunity to comply with their duty to their country without compromising religious convictions, and that if some voluntary preparation for this service had been done before induction it would then be easier to secure assignment to the medical service.
In many countries other than the United States where there was obligatory military service, and where noncombatants were allowed to serve in the military forces, the Medical Cadet Corps training program has been adopted.
Current Provisions for Noncombatants . In the United States, Selective Service regulations provide a classification of 1-A-O for noncombatants who declare their conscientious objection to combatant duties before they are drafted. The noncombatant status of those drafted under this classification is secure unless they voluntarily sign a request to be assigned as combatants. The status is described in the following directive of the Department of Defense, Aug. 21, 1962, No. 1300.6:
“I. Purpose. This directive establishes uniform procedures for the utilization of conscientious objectors in the Armed Forces. . . .
“V. Procedure.
“A. 1. Individuals inducted into the Service who have previously been classified as 1-A-O by local induction boards should be assigned to noncombatant service, which in accordance with the President’s Executive Order No. 10028, dated January 13, 1949, is defined as:
“(a). service in any unit of the armed forces which is unarmed at all times;
“(b). service in the medical department of any of the armed forces; wherever performed; or
“(c). any other assignment the primary function of which does not require the use of arms in combat provided that such other assignment is acceptable to the individual concerned and does not require him to bear arms or to be trained in their use.“
The term ‘noncombatant training’ shall mean any training which is not concerned with the study, use, or handling of arms or weapons” (quoted in Military Regulation and Procedure, National Service Organization of the General Conference of SDA, pp. 3–6, 11).
Seventh-day Adventist Noncombatants in the U. S. Armed Forces. Several SDA noncombatants in the U.S. Armed Forces have distinguished themselves while in the service. One, a United States Army medic, Private First Class Desmond T. Doss, of Lynchburg, Virginia, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest decoration, for outstanding bravery in helping the wounded in the Okinawa campaign in April and May 1945. The 26-year-old medical soldier, unarmed, performed so many feats of heroism in saving the lives of his comrades on the battlefields of Guam, Leyte, and Okinawa, that his name became a symbol for outstanding gallantry throughout the 77th Infantry “Statue of Liberty” Division.
Another example of noncombatant heroism while in the service of their country is “Operation Whitecoat,” a project involving medical experimentation, staffed entirely by SDA volunteers. These volunteers endanger their lives in time of peace in order to perfect means to combat disease in the Army and in the general population.
Documents on the Seventh-day Adventist attitude toward war and military service are provided by the National Service Organization.